Largest private Yankee Collection [Archive]

Danny899

08-12-2008, 05:40 AM

I am curious to know who might have the largest privately owned collection of New York Yankee memorabilia?, primarily Jerseys, bats and helmets.

Thanks

You would have to do extensive research and read a lot of periodicals relating to collectibles, specifically Yankee gamers before coming up with any one quick answer as to who's is the largest. In short you could possibly narrow it down to several collections but you will never know for sure whose is the "largest." However, I have read of a doctor from NJ who has a game used jersey of every Yankee whose number has been retired. It is featured in a book about the HOF and some attractive collections. This individual's collection of jerseys range from Gehrig, Ruth, etc, right on up to Reggie. I'm sure there are others in that collection as well. Certainly you would agree that it's quite impressive. Hope this answer was informative for you.

jboosted92

08-12-2008, 10:26 AM

You would have to do extensive research and read a lot of periodicals relating to collectibles, specifically Yankee gamers before coming up with any one quick answer as to who's is the largest. In short you could possibly narrow it down to several collections but you will never know for sure whose is the "largest." However, I have read of a doctor from NJ who has a game used jersey of every Yankee whose number has been retired. It is featured in a book about the HOF and some attractive collections. This individual's collection of jerseys range from Gehrig, Ruth, etc, right on up to Reggie. I'm sure there are others in that collection as well. Certainly you would agree that it's quite impressive. Hope this answer was informative for you.

Richard Angrist

BIGSTIG

08-12-2008, 10:30 AM

Whats the name of the book, would be interested in looking at it.
Also, did they mention anything about Cubs collections?

joelsabi

08-12-2008, 10:39 AM

Richard Angrist

Get the book Smithsonian Baseball. A must read on some great private collections with various collecting themes. i got a copy on ebay. It has inspired me as a collector.

metsbats

08-12-2008, 10:45 AM

Whats the name of the book, would be interested in looking at it.
Also, did they mention anything about Cubs collections?

Smithsonian Baseball by Stephen Wong. I highly recommended this book. It features many pieces from the best collections in the world including Richard Angrist and Marshall Fogel (no relation to Andy).

Also if you can get your hands on the Sotherbys catalog volumes from the Halper collection you can see the good porttion of Halpers collection that was auctioned off back in 1999. Total proceeds from the Halper auction was almost 22 million dollars. I was able to view a portion of the Halper collection in person back in 1999 when Sotherbys had a public viewing prior to the auction. Incredibily the collection was not just Yankees items as Halper collected just more than Yankees.

David

joelsabi

08-12-2008, 10:48 AM

Smithsonian Baseball by Stephen Wong. I highly recommended this book. It features many pieces from the best collections in the world including Richard Angrist and Marshall Fogel (no relation to Andy).

Also if you can get your hands on the Sotherbys catalog volumes from the Halper collection you can see the good porttion of Halpers collection that was auctioned off back in 1999. Total proceeds from the Halper auction was almost 22 million dollars. I was able to view a portion of the Halper collection in person back in 1999 when Sotherbys had a public viewing prior to the auction. Incredibily the collection was not just Yankees items as Halper collected just more than Yankees.

David

David,

Great selection. How can a man have so much foresight. Barry Halper is a legend.

joelsabi

08-12-2008, 10:57 AM

Smithsonian Baseball by Stephen Wong. I highly recommended this book. It features many pieces from the best collections in the world including Richard Angrist and Marshall Fogel (no relation to Andy).

the photography was great in the book. there was a professional phtographer with steve wong who took some great photos of the items in the collection. lots of photoshop. one thing i wished was that they had shown the displays of these collectors. i would hate to think that all these items are stored in a closet. i have seen todd mcfarlanes display of his homerun baseball collection tho. anyone else here have photos of these collections as they are displayed?

yanks12025

08-12-2008, 11:07 AM

Does anyone know how Marshall Fogel got his collection. Is he super rich, because i was looking through the Mears website and theirs alot of bats that say from the Marshall Fogel Collection.

metsbats

08-12-2008, 11:15 AM

Does anyone know how Marshall Fogel got his collection. Is he super rich, because i was looking through the Mears website and theirs alot of bats that say from the Marshall Fogel Collection.

Another great resource is the Mastronet bat guide. It features many of Marshall Fogel's bats. His collection features game used bats for every player in the HOF including many one of a kind bats. Mr. Fogel wrote the preface of the book and according to him Bill Mastro was one of the persons who helped him find the pieces in his collection.

_david

metsbats

08-12-2008, 11:20 AM

David,

Great selection. How can a man have so much foresight. Barry Halper is a legend.

The best part of the story behind Halpers collection is that he got many of the historical items directly from the players and free. Many of the historical items like milestone hits or win game used items were personalized to him either on the item or some other medium.

He had the foresight to get the players to sign index cards to attest to the authenticity of the item if the item wasn't signed directly.

Talk about great provenance. Halper was a genius.

-David

BIGSTIG

08-12-2008, 11:35 AM

Thanks for the info. I just bought it on ebay, and look forward to reading it. Maybe this will make the train rides to work something to look forward to :)

RJB44

08-12-2008, 09:55 PM

I have heard the name here and there over the years in collecting circles, most notably associated with the Sotheby's Auction, but was not quite sure what his other claim to fame was. I just did a little research on him tonight, and saw that he, in addition to passing away several years ago, was a part owner of the Yankees. How did he get such historical items? Where did his wealth come from? What put him in a position to obtain such items, his involvement with the Yankees? I couldn't find any Wikipedia on him. Just some stuff about his Auction in 1999 and some obituaries. I apologize for being ignorant on him, and maybe I am missing the big write ups on him somewhere, curious to know more about him and his collection. I saw he has kids, do they still have some of the collection?

jboosted92

08-13-2008, 10:22 AM

i tried for 20 minutes trying to locate a book which talks about halpers collection but cant locate it. i will post once i find it.

If Barry sold it today, it would probably go for over 100,000,000...

then again, we that sale occurred it sort of TRANSCENDED collecting, because the market recieved so many more "goods".

Now you see the #250 highest priced sold item in that auction, be a #1 item sold in todays auctions...unreal

joelsabi

08-13-2008, 10:31 AM

maybe someone has this book too. i recall there being a photo of pete rose with some jersey he gave to barry. many players thought it was a privilege to be a part of his collection and gave him what we consider high end items for free.

jboosted92

08-13-2008, 10:44 AM

If Barry sold it today, it would probably go for over 100,000,000...

then again, we that sale occurred it sort of TRANSCENDED collecting, because the market recieved so many more "goods".

Now you see the #250 highest priced sold item in that auction, be a #1 item sold in todays auctions...unreal

Let me rephrase that, as Barry has passed. "If the collection was sold today...."

metsbats

08-13-2008, 11:49 AM

joelsabi

08-13-2008, 12:07 PM

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9403E1DE1F3BF936A3575AC0A96F9582 60&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

http://www.njjewishnews.com/njjn.com/010506/mwsports.html

Here are some links to articles about Barry Halper.

-David
thats classic morning read.

''Mickey had a great sense of humor, sometimes a bizarre one,'' said Mr. Halper. ''I was in Dallas shortly before he died, and he was holding a news conference to discuss his liver cancer. He saw me and hollered, 'Hey, Barry, do you want to buy my liver?' ''
''Mickey knew that I had Ty Cobb's dentures,'' Mr. Halper added, with a laugh. ''Maybe he was trying to be helpful.'' Mr. Halper wasn't interested in Mantle's liver, but he did covet the scalpel used in the liver-transplant operation. The surgeon said he could not be sure which one he had used, but Mantle had another idea. A few weeks later Mr. Halper received a Federal Express package, and when he opened it he found a plastic glove, with a note: ''This is the glove from my hemmorid exam. Mickey Mantle.''
Mr. Halper framed the glove in a glass butterfly case but discreetly tucked it in a drawer. ''What should I do?'' asked Mr. Halper. ''Throw it away?''

metsbats

08-13-2008, 12:37 PM

thats classic morning read.

''Mickey had a great sense of humor, sometimes a bizarre one,'' said Mr. Halper. ''I was in Dallas shortly before he died, and he was holding a news conference to discuss his liver cancer. He saw me and hollered, 'Hey, Barry, do you want to buy my liver?' ''
''Mickey knew that I had Ty Cobb's dentures,'' Mr. Halper added, with a laugh. ''Maybe he was trying to be helpful.'' Mr. Halper wasn't interested in Mantle's liver, but he did covet the scalpel used in the liver-transplant operation. The surgeon said he could not be sure which one he had used, but Mantle had another idea. A few weeks later Mr. Halper received a Federal Express package, and when he opened it he found a plastic glove, with a note: ''This is the glove from my hemmorid exam. Mickey Mantle.''
Mr. Halper framed the glove in a glass butterfly case but discreetly tucked it in a drawer. ''What should I do?'' asked Mr. Halper. ''Throw it away?''

Who would have know. Barry Halper, the original Kylehess!

DonFan23

08-13-2008, 04:32 PM

David/Joel,

Funny that you bring up that story. I was fortunate enough to meet Barry and have a private tour of his collection in the fall of '95. As one could imagine, the words breathtaking and awe-inspiring can hardly do it justice.

It took some time to get the meeting organized, and it was postponed once due to the death of the Mick. But I did get a look at a key item that never made it to the Sotheby's sale.

Sorry about the quality, but see the scans of my original prints below.
Then again, maybe that's a good thing...:eek:
1. DiMag's SF Seals jersey
2. Gehrig Columbia University jersey
3. Barry and me in front of the infamous dry cleaner's rack with Don Mattingly's Columbus Clippers jersey
4. The Mick's #7 and rookie #6 Yankees jerseys
5. No explanation necessary - but here goes anyway. It's the glove, along with the FedEx slip and a note from the doctor who forwarded the glove to Barry at the request of Mantle. The glove reads" Barry, This is the glove from my HEMMORID (sp.) exam. Mickey Mantle."

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l217/donfan23/halper1.jpg
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l217/donfan23/halper2.jpg

metsbats

08-13-2008, 04:41 PM

DonFan23,

Nice stuff! Must have been really cool to see the Man and his collection in person. Halper was such a generous man he opened his collection up to others to enjoy.

Thanks for sharing the photos especially the Mantle hemmoriod glove. Do I detect stains in the finger. This is as strange as it gets. Wonder who has the glove now?

-David

yanks12025

08-13-2008, 04:43 PM

joelsabi

08-13-2008, 04:50 PM

hi donfan23,

what a treat to see the halper collection. thanks for sharing.

kinda wish bill gates or william buffet was a baseball buff and would buy the entire collection and just create a museum based on halper's collection.

i thought the glove was inside the desk?

David/Joel,

Funny that you bring up that story. I was fortunate enough to meet Barry and have a private tour of his collection in the fall of '95. As one could imagine, the words breathtaking and awe-inspiring can hardly do it justice.

It took some time to get the meeting organized, and it was postponed once due to the death of the Mick. But I did get a look at a key item that never made it to the Sotheby's sale.

Sorry about the quality, but see the scans of my original prints below.
Then again, maybe that's a good thing...:eek:
1. DiMag's SF Seals jersey
2. Gehrig Columbia University jersey
3. Barry and me in front of the infamous dry cleaner's rack with Don Mattingly's Columbus Clippers jersey
4. The Mick's #7 and rookie #6 Yankees jerseys
5. No explanation necessary - but here goes anyway. It's the glove, along with the FedEx slip and a note from the doctor who forwarded the glove to Barry at the request of Mantle. The glove reads" Barry, This is the glove from my HEMMORID (sp.) exam. Mickey Mantle."

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l217/donfan23/halper1.jpg
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l217/donfan23/halper2.jpg

mdube16

08-13-2008, 07:37 PM

Vintagedeputy

08-13-2008, 08:30 PM

If you dont know anything about Halper, you dont know anything about collecting. He was the man and I doubt anyone will ever take his place as far as one man's collection goes.

metsbats

08-13-2008, 08:59 PM

This is from the Sotheby's auction Catalog.

Pete Rose's game used jersey worn when he broke Ty Cobb's all time hit record.

Enjoy!
David

metsbats

08-13-2008, 09:04 PM

I bought a handfull of lower end items from the Halper auction. Sinatra auto baseball, Mantle auto Sporting News from the week I was born, 87 mets auto ball, 2 93 marlins auto balls, 2 G Bush Sr auto balls, a couple of dozen canseco signed baseballs....Did anyone else get anything?

Interesting story regarding lower end items. Halper's brick from the old Comiskey park (with Speedway Wrecking plate) went for an outrageous amount. I think it was $450 - $600 dollars. (I don't remember the precise price)

I had the same brick and I sold mine to another forum member last year for about $45.

David

stkmtimo

08-13-2008, 09:31 PM

The Halper Collection was indeed phenomenal and he truly was one of the hobby's legends and an all around good guy. For those who don't know how he made his money, he was President of a paper company (Halper Brothers) that was started by his father, I believe. Living close by to where Barry was from in NJ, I've seen their trucks before. He did very well for himself and had the great foresight to establish many contacts and make many lasting friendships with the legends of the game.

Tim

nomarmauerfan

08-13-2008, 09:42 PM

I see that no one has brought this up. So, I thought I would. Barry Halper has a DVD that is awesome. Its on Amazon and its called, "The Ultimate Baseball Collector's Collection". Check it out...it truly is awesome!!! It makes you sick looking at all of his GU collectibles. My favorite is when he trades Mattingly a GU Gehrig bat for one of Donnie's. Wow!!! And, me being such a Donnie Baseball fan...that bat that he gives Barry is absolutely hammered. Again, check out the DVD...you'll be happy you did.

Mike

Billyu40

08-13-2008, 11:59 PM

Don,
That must have been very cool. I would have killed to hold that Lou Gehrig Columbia University jersey. Does anyone know where it is now and did it go up for sale back in 1999 and if so how much did it go for.

I looked and I didnt see the Columbia jersey being sold by Sotherby's. A 1927 Lou Gehrig road jersey did sell for $305,000.00